“Let’s give your mum a break,” she said, as the lady, who worked at the Sanctuary of Truth, picked up my seven month old baby and proceeded to walk off with her in a different direction…
The Sanctuary of Truth is an incredibly gorgeous place to visit in Pattaya, Thailand. It has so much history and the most beautiful architecture I have probably ever seen. Being the only person there with a baby that day, Dewdrop became The Interesting New Thing, and quite a lot of people all wanted to meet her, so we made a friends with a few people who worked there along the way. One of those was a lady, who we will call May.
From what I remember, it was quite a hot day, and carrying her in the sling was out of the question. We were checking out the view when Dewdrop got a little too hot and restless so I sat her on seat for a change of scenery. The only other people there were a group of people from a tour bus, and a few people who worked there as guides, May included, so we could stop and sit and then carry on as we went along without getting in anyones way. May noticed that we’d stop started a lot, and to be honest I wasn’t really having a great day as it was, so she came over to talk to us and make silly faces at Dewdrop to give me a second to recover.
Now let’s talk about May.
We chatted for a while, she told me about her life, where she was from, and I did the same. Her children were older teens, they lived in her home country, she’d worked there for a few years and English was her 3rd language.
To be honest we must have been talking for a little while because another tour turned up and it got a little busier. May stuck around in case I needed any help, and we didn’t make it too far before all the noise and overstimulation got to Dewdrop and she started getting a little tetchy. I put her down on a bench and started opening up a new bottle to give to her. Whilst I was battling with the lids I heard “Let’s give your mum a break,” as May picked Dewdrop up, and started trotting off towards the exit.
Wait…
Panic ensued.
Was this normal??
Anxiety took over.
She’s heading for the door.
QUICK— take a photo of her!
Why is she trying to leave?
Does she even work here?
Wait.
SHE WAS STEALING MY BABY.
At least that’s what went through my mind.
But wouldn’t you do the same???
Before I get too dramatic, I feel like I need a disclaimer here, it turned out May was very lovely, she absolutely worked there, and she really did think she was helping a frazzled, little stressed out, new mum. But I think me running after her like a mad lady was completely justified considering a stranger was walking off with my child and I didn’t have a clue where she was talking her. The reality was, she’d only made it a few steps before I lost my shizzle, but a few steps were enough for me. I think any parent could agree with that.
May and I did part on good terms, and I was more than happy for her to introduce her new tiny friend to her colleagues, and have a good laugh at our misunderstanding, but it was safe to say, I used the sling a lot after that.
Flight of the Bumble D & Me 